The present invention relates to a patient support apparatus, and more particularly, to a patient support apparatus having x-ray film cartridge shuttle positioning means for use in the health care industry.
Various types of bed-like equipment are commonly used in hospitals and other health care facilities. One type of such equipment is referred to as a stretcher which is normally provided with wheels for ease of movement and used in a variety of situations. Such a stretcher is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,393. The wheeled stretcher may be used in emergency room settings and in general hospital service for transporting patients from one location to another. Such a stretcher is of relatively heavy-duty construction and includes a base supported by a plurality of wheels. The base supports the stretcher frame to which a bed portion is attached. The stretcher is also normally provided with side rails which may be selectively raised or lowered. The rails securely hold the patient on the stretcher, but can also be moved out of the way to enable the patient to move or be moved from or onto the stretcher.
Particularly, when used in the emergency room, the wheeled stretcher fulfills a variety of roles. For example, the stretcher may serve as a bed during a period of time when a patient is awaiting treating. The stretcher can also be used to transport the patient. Frequently, the stretcher also serves as an examination table or even as a surgical table for treatment of the patient.
If properly equipped, the wheeled stretcher may serve as an x-ray table for taking x-rays of patients before, during, or after surgical operations. Typical stretchers which can serve as x-ray tables have an x-ray film cartridge support which is located beneath an x-ray transparent horizontal bed surface. Stretchers having x-ray film cartridge shuttles which are slidably movable beneath horizontal bed surfaces are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,989,634; 4,193,148; and 4,651,364.
A positioning rod having an end hook is used to engage the end handle of the x-ray film cartridge shuttle of U.S. Pat. No. 2,989,634 in order to position the shuttle on the hospital table. Graduations are provided on the rod so that the x-ray film cartridge shuttle can be located in the same position for a succession of photographs. Difficulty arises, however, when the x-ray film cartridge shuttle has to be moved to a new position on the table. When a technician stands at the end of the hospital table and holds the rod engaged with the end handle of the shuttle, he either has to guess as to the distance over which the rod is to be pushed in order to reposition the shuttle or push the rod, look at the shuttle position from the side of or underneath the table, and if necessary again push the rod. Such shuttle positioning can interfere with the activities of the doctors and nurses who are working on the patient on the hospital table and also be time consuming. This is particularly a problem in cases where a stretcher is used as the x-ray table, since such cases usually involve emergency situations where the trauma team must remain close to the patient.
Thus the need exists in the art for an x-ray film cartridge shuttle positioning means which results in an accurate positioning of the x-ray film cartridge shuttle relative to the patient and does not interfere with the work of the trauma team on the patient on the hospital table.